Thursday night Browns fans find out where and when the team is playing. The who is already known. Home opponents are Baltimore Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Arizona, Chicago, Jacksonville, New York Jets, San Fransico and Tennessee. The road opponents are Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle. Already known is the Browns won’t play in England or Germany. Wait till next year, because they will then. So what are my thoughts, pre-release?
The first game will tell me one of two things, if the NFL is still going to punish the Browns for signing Deshaun Watson or they’re back to just caring about ratings and money. If they’re still in punishment mode, it’ll be an away game in Houston. If it’s ratings and money, they’ll open at home against the Jaguars. Watson Vs. Lawrence, or at Denver, Watson Vs. Wilson, both are money makers. My bet is ratings and money, the NFL is all about the Benjamins. I’m hoping if it’s an away game it will be at Indianapolis and if it’s a home game be against Arizona or Tennessee.
One game I am very certain of is week three, the Browns hosting the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. That week is the 53rd anniversary of the first Monday Night game. The NFL will promote the crap out of that one and it’s Watson Vs. Rogers. Again, money maker. The Browns have three west coast trips. Hopefully they either space them out, one a month or like head coach Kevin Stefanski wants, have the Seattle and the Los Angeles games in back-to-back weeks. Then the team can just stay on the west coast between games. I think the Bengals and Browns will be a Thursday night game, always a big ratings game. This might be the first year a Browns game is flexed.
Hopefully the bye week will be somewhere in between week seven and week ten. That would be ideal. The league will stack divisional games at the end of the season. Probably ending the season at Pittsburg, because that’s what they always like to do. Maybe the NFL will change it up and have the Browns play at Baltimore.
Overall, it’s a good schedule, but I’ll wait to see the full schedule to make judgements. Thursday night, I’ll be live on The Fanatical Elfz Network, http://@ElfzNetwork, starting around 6:30 pm (CST), with my fellow Fanatics as we watch & react to the schedule as it happens live starting at 7:00 pm (CST). Please tune in and enjoy. Stay safe and Go Browns.